Conjugation of recordar | Catalan Grammar

Recordar covers both “remember” and “remind.” Its conjugation is regular, but its syntax is not one-size-fits-all: recordar una cosa takes a direct object, recordar una cosa a algú adds the person as an indirect object, and pronominal recordar-se de requires de. English uses one unmarked verb across these patterns, so choosing the Catalan argument structure is harder than forming the tense.

Unlike Spanish recordar, Catalan recordar has no present-tense diphthong. The stem remains record- throughout. The most useful principal parts are therefore reassuringly transparent: recordo – recordí – recordi – recordaré – recordat. The separate page on recordar-se develops the pronominal construction in more detail.

As a regular -ar verb, recordar never takes the incoative extension -eix-; forms such as recordeixo are not Catalan.

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First decide what the person does: recorda el fet “remembers the fact,” li recorda el fet “reminds him/her of the fact,” or se'n recorda “remembers it.” The conjugation is regular; the clitics and complements carry the contrast.

Nonfinite forms

Form	Catalan	English guide
Infinitive	recordar	to remember; to remind
Perfect infinitive	haver recordat	to have remembered / reminded
Gerund	recordant	remembering; reminding
Perfect gerund	havent recordat	having remembered / reminded
Participle	recordat; recordada, recordats, recordades	remembered; reminded

In compound tenses the auxiliary is haver and the participle is invariable: elles han recordat la data. The agreeing forms occur when recordat functions adjectivally or passively, not merely because a feminine or plural object is present.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	recordo	recordes	recorda	recordem	recordeu	recorden
Imperfect	recordava	recordaves	recordava	recordàvem	recordàveu	recordaven
Periphrastic past	vaig recordar	vas recordar	va recordar	vam recordar	vau recordar	van recordar
Simple past	recordí	recordares	recordà	recordàrem	recordàreu	recordaren
Future	recordaré	recordaràs	recordarà	recordarem	recordareu	recordaran
Conditional	recordaria	recordaries	recordaria	recordaríem	recordaríeu	recordarien

The everyday narrative past is the periphrastic series vaig recordar.... The simple past is productive in writing (formal/literary) and remains conversational in some Balearic and Valencian varieties (regional). Present recordem and future recordarem look similar, but only the future contains the full infinitive stem and carries final stress.

Encara recordo l'olor del pa que feia la meva àvia.

I still remember the smell of the bread my grandmother used to make.

Quan érem petits, recordàvem tots els telèfons de memòria.

When we were children, we remembered every phone number by heart.

Ahir vaig recordar que havia deixat les claus al despatx.

Yesterday I remembered that I had left the keys at the office.

Sempre recordaré com ens van ajudar els veïns aquella nit.

I will always remember how the neighbors helped us that night.

Indicative: compound tenses

All compound forms use haver + recordat. Catalan never builds the perfect with tenir.

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present perfect	he recordat	has recordat	ha recordat	hem recordat	heu recordat	han recordat
Pluperfect	havia recordat	havies recordat	havia recordat	havíem recordat	havíeu recordat	havien recordat
Past anterior	haguí recordat	hagueres recordat	hagué recordat	haguérem recordat	haguéreu recordat	hagueren recordat
Future perfect	hauré recordat	hauràs recordat	haurà recordat	haurem recordat	haureu recordat	hauran recordat
Conditional perfect	hauria recordat	hauries recordat	hauria recordat	hauríem recordat	hauríeu recordat	haurien recordat

The synthetic past anterior is mainly (formal/literary). Its periphrastic counterpart is vaig haver recordat, vas haver recordat, va haver recordat, vam haver recordat, vau haver recordat, van haver recordat. Both locate the remembering immediately before another past event; ordinary speech usually chooses the pluperfect instead.

T'he recordat la cita dues vegades aquest matí.

I've reminded you about the appointment twice this morning.

Quan em vas trucar, ja havia recordat on havia guardat el contracte.

When you called me, I had already remembered where I had put the contract.

Subjunctive: simple and compound forms

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	recordi	recordis	recordi	recordem	recordeu	recordin
Imperfect	recordés	recordessis	recordés	recordéssim	recordéssiu	recordessin
Present perfect	hagi recordat	hagis recordat	hagi recordat	hàgim recordat	hàgiu recordat	hagin recordat
Pluperfect	hagués recordat	haguessis recordat	hagués recordat	haguéssim recordat	haguéssiu recordat	haguessin recordat

The periphrastic subjunctive past is vagi recordar, vagis recordar, vagi recordar, vàgim recordar, vàgiu recordar, vagin recordar; the corresponding anterior is vagi haver recordat.... These series are standard but much less frequent than the indicative periphrastic past. The forms recordem and recordeu are spelled alike in the present indicative and present subjunctive; the licensing construction, not the form alone, identifies the mood. (Regional: Valencian) present subjunctive forms recorde, recordes, recorde, recordem, recordeu, recorden and imperfect forms in -ara (recordara, recordares...) belong to the Valencian standard.

Espero que et recordis de portar l'autorització signada.

I hope you remember to bring the signed authorization.

Si recordéssim el codi, no hauríem de telefonar al tècnic.

If we remembered the code, we wouldn't have to call the technician.

Imperative and clitic placement

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	recorda	no recordis
vostè	recordi	no recordi
nosaltres	recordem	no recordem
vosaltres	recordeu	no recordeu
vostès	recordin	no recordin

Affirmative commands attach weak pronouns: recorda-m'ho “remind me of it,” recorda-li-ho “remind him/her of it,” and pronominal recorda-te'n “remember it.” Negative commands put them before the verb: no m'ho recordis and no te'n recordis. The apostrophes and hyphens are grammatical spelling, not optional punctuation; see imperatives with pronouns.

Recorda-li-ho abans que comenci la reunió.

Remind him about it before the meeting starts.

No te'n recordis només quan ja sigui massa tard.

Don't remember it only when it's already too late.

Remembering, reminding, and the pronominal construction

With the meaning “remember,” nonpronominal recordar is transitive: recordar el nom, recordar una conversa, recordar que demà és festa. No preposition separates it from its object. When a person is the object of affectionate or commemorative remembrance, recordar algú is likewise possible.

To mean “remind,” the thing remembered remains the direct object and the person receiving the reminder is indirect: recordar la data a la directora → recordar-li la data. A clause can fill the thing slot: li recordo que tanquem a les sis. In aquesta olor em recorda la infantesa, the experiencer is also expressed with an indirect clitic.

Aquest carrer em recorda els estius que passàvem a Reus.

This street reminds me of the summers we used to spend in Reus.

La secretària els recordarà que el termini s'acaba divendres.

The secretary will remind them that the deadline ends on Friday.

Pronominal recordar-se de packages recall differently: the person takes a reflexive clitic and the remembered content follows de. Once that content is understood, en replaces it: Em recordo de la contrasenya → Me'n recordo. This is a genuine pronominal construction; recordo de la contrasenya and em recordo la contrasenya mix the two frames.

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For a future task, English “remember to do” is expressed with recordar-se de + infinitive: recorda't de tancar. Nonpronominal recordar can instead introduce an infinitive that denotes a remembered prior event: recordo haver tancat la porta “I remember having closed the door.”

Common Mistakes

❌ No recordo de l'adreça exacta.

Incorrect—the nonpronominal verb takes a direct object, without de.

✅ No recordo l'adreça exacta.

I don't remember the exact address.

❌ Em recordo la cara, però no el nom.

Incorrect—pronominal recordar-se requires de; otherwise use nonpronominal recordar.

✅ Em recordo de la cara, però no del nom.

I remember the face, but not the name.

❌ Jo recuerdo perfectament aquella conversa.

Incorrect—Catalan has no Spanish-style o-to-ue alternation here.

✅ Jo recordo perfectament aquella conversa.

I remember that conversation perfectly.

❌ Demano que em recordes l'hora de sortida.

Incorrect—after a request referring to a nonasserted action, use present subjunctive recordis.

✅ Demano que em recordis l'hora de sortida.

I'm asking you to remind me of the departure time.

❌ Recorda't tancar la porta del terrat.

Incorrect—pronominal recordar-se needs de before the infinitive.

✅ Recorda't de tancar la porta del terrat.

Remember to close the roof-terrace door.

Key Takeaways

Recordar is morphologically regular: recordo, recordava, vaig recordar, recordaré, recordi, recordés, recordat. Its difficulty lies in three constructions. Use recordar + direct object for recall, add an indirect object for the person being reminded, and preserve both the reflexive clitic and de in recordar-se de. In compound tenses use haver recordat, and in ordinary narration prefer the periphrastic past vaig recordar.

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